Can You Recycle Envelopes?

A little while ago I got an email from a reader asking me “can you recycle envelopes?”. She said she’d read conflicting information on the internet and wanted a definitive answer on whether you can, or cannot recycle envelopes.

As much as I try to give advice that covers most people in the UK, the trouble is there is in fact no definitive answer to if you can recycle envelopes or not – it all lies with your local council, and the recycling facilities they have in place. Some councils say that you can recycle envelopes provided you rip out the cellophane window. Others say that when recycling envelopes you shouldn’t remove the cellophane – that they can recycle them as they are. Other local councils say they can’t recycle any envelopes at all – windowed or not – as the adhesives in envelopes can gum up the machines.

Why it has to differ so much from one area to another does baffle me. My local council (West Lothian Council) won’t recycle any envelopes at all, so it’s a complete pain in the bum for us!

So the best advice on the can you recycle envelopes question is: check with your local council. Sorry I couldn’t be more conclusive!

What can you do if your council doesn’t recycle envelopes?

My favourite red post box – it’s in South Queensferry!

If your local council doesn’t recycle envelopes here are five ideas to minimise waste from envelopes:

* Reuse envelopes as shopping lists or as notepaper for beside the phone

* Open your envelopes very carefully and reuse them

* Use them for saving and storing seeds over the winter

* Cut up envelopes to use as packaging labels – I reuse envelopes to post items I’ve sold on eBay. To make labels I’ll cut up an old envelope rather than using a fresh sheet of paper.

* Remove the window from the envelope, and shred the paper. This paper can then be placed in your composter – the minimal amount of adhesive used in envelopes should break down easily in your composter. See this guide on how to compost if you’re new to composting!

Other good ideas to reduce the amount of envelopes coming in to your home are:

1 comment

You managed to summarize the info well and it is true that this issue should be viewed locally as many councils have different requirements. But for me, the best way is to avoid junkmail, to do that one must take off his name or family from marketing lists and sign to be paperless for all monthly billings.

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I'm Wendy and welcome to Moral Fibres, my green lifestyle blog. I believe that sustainable living should be hip, not hippie. If you do too then you'll love it here! In the blog you'll find all sorts of thrifty and easy hints and tips for living a greener life that won't compromise your sense of style.